Real time intelligence

Watching, waiting

Designed for real-time imagery intelligence, artillery adjustment, battle damage assessment, reconnaissance and surveillance, target acquisition and battlefield observation.

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Over the skies of the battlefield looms a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) called the Hunter.

It is designed for real-time imagery intelligence, artillery adjustment, battle damage assessment, reconnaissance and surveillance, target acquisition and battlefield observation.

Developed by TRW and sold to Northrop-Grumman, the Hunter is designed to fly over the battlefield, observe operations below, seek out a target and blast it out of existence. Hunter is powered by a 2X Mercedes-Benz piston engine. Television and forward-looking infrared (FLIR) provide this UAV with day and night surveillance capability. Thanks to its SAR/MTI (synthetic aperture radar/moving target indicator), Hunter can track a moving target on the ground, lock on via a manned ground unit and drop the laser-guided, Northrop-Grumman BAT / GBU-44/B Viper Strike missile on the unsuspecting enemy below.

Since it’s not fully autonomous, the Hunter requires a ground unit to control all its major functions, including tactical mission planning, airborne maneuverability and release of its payload. Complete autonomy for weapons-based robots is still 10 to 20 years away, according to Ellen Purdy, director of Joint Ground Robotics at the U.S. Department of Defense.

Long flight lines aren’t always available. Some situations call for a short takeoff. Hunter is equipped with RATO ( rocket-assist takeoff). In the event space is limited and the Hunter needs to get airborne, the RATO system will complete the task in just a few feet.

Real-time intelligence is a must. The Hunter comes with a new LN-251 global positioning system /inertial navigation system (GPS/INS), an APX-118 IFF transponder and an auxiliary power distribution unit. The relay mode allows one Hunter to control another at extended ranges or when the signal is blocked by outside interference. The Hunter has been serving U.S. military defense campaigns around the world since 1993, and it will continue to do so in the near and distant future.